This trip to Paris was the easiest time that I ever had going through Hartsfield Jackson Airport, except for the one time that I checked in after midnight.

I went to the Delta check in on the lower level. I was the only person checking in my baggage at the time, so I had the attention of three Delta employees.

When I put my one piece of luggage on the scale it weighed 62 pounds, and the limit is 50 pounds. I knew it was going to be heavy, because I had my textbooks in the outer pockets of the suitcase so I could remove them; that took 10 pounds off of the weight of the luggage. Then, I removed some of the heavier food items from inside and that brought it down to 50 pounds.

I was under the impression that I could only bring one bag weighing no more than 50 pounds or I would be charged $25 for a second bag. However the Delta employees informed me that this bag restriction only is for domestic flights and that international flights are allowed two bags at no extra charge. Had I known this, I would have taken two smaller bags, rather than one very large bag.

After that pleasant baggage check-in experience, I went upstairs to wait, in what I thought would be a long line to go through security. To my surprise, when I got upstairs I was able to walk right up to a security person, show him my boarding pass and passport and walked right through. Most of the other people who were coming in at that same time, turned to the right after they cleared the TSA officer, I however, went to the left and I had the entire baggage screening line all to myself. Since I was carrying many items including my carry-on bag, I had to use five bins for shoes, coats, laptop, my books that I had to take out of my luggage and carry, etc. Once again, I was the only one there, so it was no problem at all.

I got to my gate at around 12:30 p.m.and the flight was not to leave until 5:30 p.m., so I just set up shop, plugging in my laptop, and getting to work.

The flight itself was full, however I was in row 16B, which is only a few rows behind the business class and it is on the aisle next to one window passenger. The window passenger in seat 16A was a gentleman around 50 years old who works for the TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and this was his first flight overseas, so he was quite excited and had many questions. He was going to be doing a little business several hours outside of Paris and then before he returned to the States, he was going to spend three days in Paris before flying back home. {NOTE: While I was at Place St. Michel on Friday morning, 5/9, waiting for Garry–the person taking Anja’s place, whiile she is on maternity leave–who should walk by…but my seatmate from the flight over. Mr 16A, Steve Barnes, from the TVA. He was on his last day in Paris.

The day before, he had photographed Sarkozy laying a wreath commemorating the liberation of Paris in WWII, and a news crew filmed and interviewed him; they wanted an American’s perspective for the nightly news. WOW! He had something to tell the folks back in Chattanooga. How you going to keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paree!)

Arriving in Paris on a Sunday morning is also very easy; the airport at that time is not too crowded, however the real advantage is that the RER is wide open, so I was able to ride the RER without any crowds and, of course, I took the express to bypass all the stations in the suburbs. Then when I had to make the one change from the RER to the Metro system, the station was also empty so I could take my time going up and down stairs and going through the turnstiles without a lot of people and me clogging up the system.

I did not bring a map and because I had a fairly good idea where my apartment was and I was able to find it very easily. Getting into the building and getting up to my apartment was very easy. They had mailed the key to the mailbox to me, and in the mailbox in the building were the keys to my apartment. Therefore, everything just went very smoothly including hooking up to Internet.

It was a very good trip and then to top it all off the weather in Paris had just turned today from being 50s and cold and cloudy and rainy to being in the 70s and warm and sunny. All of Paris was out enjoying the first really warm spring day so it was very good.

Then mom called me sometime between 7 and 8 a.m. her time which was between one and 2 p.m. in Paris and so we had a good talk and then I walked over to church. I took my time and got into church 45 minutes early. Only the pastor and his wife were the two that have been there before that I remember–Ron and Lorreli Friesen, everyone else that I saw in the church was different, but I must remember that it was July 2006 when I was last at the church, so a lot has changed